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I can't believe it's that time again: My year in review with 2017! Where did this year go?? I have no idea. Time stands still for no one, as my Mom used to say. Now I clearly see why she said that. And then some.

Of course when you have responsibilities and others to care for and connect with plus staying busy with creating and finding joy, time sure does fly by!

And this year has been eventful, and I have lots to share. So I Shall. Ready?

Where shall I begin? Usually, Journaling comes to mind first. So I'll start there. I am an avid written journal keeper and have been for many a year (30? I'm not sure; I think I lost count, as well as with how many filled journals I have. *wink*)

This year I continued my daily written journal entries. Up until September, I was doing a.m. and p.m. entries. Once the new school year started up and I had an earlier wake up time, I found myself forgetting to write in my journal since my a.m. responsibilities side tracked me. I was shocked I had let it slip! So I took a closer look at my practice, and after engaging with a live journaling event hosted by another avid journal keeper, I determined to ONLY JOURNAL in the a.m. if I really want to, like if I have something I want to say.

One thing I learned in taking a closer look at my a.m. journaling practice was my redundancy (which I spoke about during our JournalChat Live in November). I found myself repeating things from the night before that weren't necessary. Why do this? I asked myself. So I gave myself permission to let go of the a.m. entry unless I felt drawn to write. And so far, I've only indulged once or twice in the a.m. and most times, it's been on the weekend, when I'm relaxed and not in a hurry. Lesson: let go of what is extraneous or what isn't working. No need to feel obligated! (This is HUGE for me as a journal keeper.) I do continue to create evening doodles every day to honor my day's experience and still find it engaging, fun, and relaxing, giving myself space to play with design, color and texture with my watercolor markers and artist pens. You can view many of my doodles on my Instagram account and here.

Also, I created my own designed Planner Pages to change things up with my journaling practice, but I found that printing them out, hole punching them and using them became more of a chore rather than a JOY. OY. So, I continue to write in my blank journals as always and plan to get more. My goal is to always have a quality white blank paper to create my doodles on; that's one of my reasons for loyalty to the empty sketchbook as my primary journaling tool for entries.

As for JournalChat Live for all things journaling of which I host on Social Media, I decided to change things up and go LIVE ON VIDEO in our JournalChat Live Facebook Group which went from Public to Private this year! Yes! We had a delightful time in November as we talked about How to Keep Things Fresh with our Journaling Practice; I also provided special prompts for us to play with during our time together, which made it even more special and fun! I plan to host JournalChat Live in this group in the coming year of 2018! Do join us if you haven't already!

Speaking of going LIVE on social media, Next up I will share with you something New I started on Facebook called JOYFest, where we gather together to share our JOYS with one another, thus making the World a Better Place. We had our Christmas Edition on 12/7 and had a blast sharing our Greatest JOYS of 2017! You can catch the replay here.

Our next JOYFest will take place in our new Private ​​JOYFest Facebook Group! I decided it would be fun and organized to hold and host LIVE VIDEO events in private Group Settings to create a comfortable and affirming place to share our JOYS together! I so look forward to having YOU join us to share Your Joys in 2018!

To backtrack just a bit, I wanted to share with you the new focus I created with my website and message here at Refresh with Dawn Herring. I realized that most of the engagement I experience that refreshes me brings me JOY as I get refreshed. So...in January, I went live with a completely new website with JOY as my focus, and I have had so much fun since! So now my brand reads, Refresh with Dawn Herring: Where Finding JOY Takes Center Stage! I do hope you enjoy perusing all the JOY focused content and navigation as I share my JOY with you. And you can create your Own Path to JOY, which is my greatest aim for you!

Which leads me right into some new offerings here at Refresh with Dawn Herring...ready? First up, Dawn's Life Directives and Affirmations Coloring Pages with Prompts! YAY! Since I am an avid doodler and have so much fun creating doodles and coloring them in, I thought it would be fun to Create Doodles for YOU to color in! Using the tenants that I hold to and look to live by, such as Appreciate Your Self for Who You Are, Recognize Your Value and other self care initiating directives, I created Coloring Pages, with a word from me about each tenant and prompts for your journaling, art journaling and doodle practices...and if you don't already practice, this is a perfect place to start! :)

And if you're looking for even more prompts with a self care focus, plus some video and audio from me along the way, then my new course, 7 Steps to Creative Clarity, is perfect for you! If you ever feel blocked, bored or uninspired or maybe you don't know where to start in building a thriving, fun Creative Practice, this is why I created this course, so you can find the JOY of creating!

So this year of 2017 has been an important year for me as Creative Visionary and Guide for those who need some encouragement and feel they could use a little bit of permission to create!

And for those who like to LISTEN and be inspired, I launched my Refresh Daily with Dawn Herring Podcast! Yay! So far I've created one episode that you can listen to or watch, whatever your preference, both here on my website and on YouTube. I plan to create more episodes next year (including some interviews with others who share about their creative practice!) My purpose in creating a podcast is for those who are looking for tips and inspiration toward building an authentic Creative Practice that brings them great JOY.

Also, this year, I launched my new newsletter called The JOY Finder! I share tips and inspiring stories about how I am Finding More JOY so you can too, plus I keep you up to date on what's happening here at Refresh with Dawn Herring, including when I'll be hosting Live Events you don't want to miss. You can subscribe here and receive a gift from me, 10 Steps into JOY!

To conclude this 2017 Year in Review, I thought I would share a bit of what I've been doing in my art studio. I did take some time off this past summer, breaking the creative mold I had been in with painting with watercolor every day for three years. Once I got back into studio space, I decided to try some new things (with more new stuff planned for 2018...). I did my first fashion gouache and pen rendering of a gorgeous faux fur jacket which you can view here. Plus I did some drawings in a sketchbook of some of my jewelry. (There is one post on my Instagram in the early part of 2017 you can view.) I plan to indulge a bit more in this type of art since I enJOY it so much. I continue to paint with watercolor, working on watercolor paper at this time. Plus playing with designers gouache as well.

So there you have it! It's been a busy and exciting year for me at Refresh with Dawn Herring, and of course, it would not have been the same without YOU, my dear readers and friends. Thanks so much for joining me during my Live events and sharing your journaling and creative lives with me. It brings me true JOY in sharing with you.

I wish you the greatest and most JOY-Filled New Year of 2018; and I look forward to having Fun and Engaging with YOU in all of our creative energy together in community, thus making the World a Better Place!

I've been having some fun coming up with acronyms for the months of the year. I find them to be insightful into what really matters to me. Today I'm excited to share with you my new Acronym for September here at Refresh Daily.

StayingEver PresentTo Every MomentBringsEachRest

The more often we take moments to be really Present, the more rest we will create for ourselves (instead of worry and fear playing games with our thoughts!), and perhaps, activate more daily JOY in our lives.

Journaling Prompt:What does the word Rest mean to you right now? What does it look like? What are three things you can do to implement being more present and restful in your days.

Art Journaling Prompt:Create a spread that really shows REST both with color, image, text or whatever feels the most restful to you. Be very aware of the moments as you create this spread, honoring where you need rest in your body, mind, heart, soul.

Doodle Prompt:Create a doodle with the word Rest or Present and incorporate what they mean to you in the way you draw your letters.

Here at Refresh with Dawn Herring my goal is to give you as many ideas to initiate more JOY in your daily life, whether it's your personal or professional journey. In this video I share an encouraging word about Celebrating Your Wins in your personal or work life.

Journaling Prompt:Record the last time you celebrated a win, whether personally or professionally. Has it been a while? If so, celebrate your last task fulfilled, no matter how small. How did you feel when you were finished? Relieved? Satisfied? Didn't pay attention? (Next time, do so, and feel more JOY.)

Art Journaling Prompt:Create a spread to celebrate your latest win. Perhaps choose one that seems insignificant or small and make a Really Big Deal out of it.

Here is the audio version of the blog post, Self Care: Optional or Essential? I'm providing audio for those who prefer to listen rather than read. If you would like to read the blog post, just follow this link. Thanks for listening and you are welcome to leave a comment about how you're making self care a priority as well as give feedback for the audio! I'd love to hear from you. :)

I have a lot of fun with Acronyms! I created one for the Month of May in an earlier post, and now I've created a new one for July. Above you will see the video I posted on IG to share my acronym, plus I've included it below in text format so you can use it as a journaling prompt or simply a reminder to initiate more JOY.

Here's my Acronym for JULY:JOYUNEARTHEDLIFTS YOU

See what you can do with this acronym! You can get creative in your journal, art journal, or sketchbook and/or create a doodle for it! Just have fun reminding yourself to initiate more JOY on a daily basis.

How can you unearth more JOY today? This Month? All summer?

May JOY Find You in the Most Unexpected Places. ​Copyright 2017 Dawn Herring

Here is the video replay from my first #JournalChat Live Facebook Video in our private group. I share how my journaling practice is relevant for me in my intuitive watercolor painting practice as well as in discovering life patterns where I want to create positive change. Plus I share news about my website, my blog, and social media and the ongoing #JournalChat OPEN HOUSE which you can contribute to right now.

Journaling Prompt:Record any life patterns that are making you feel stuck and use dialogue to ask questions and get answers. Use alternating hands: dominant for the question and non dominant for the answer.

Art Journaling/ Doodle Prompt: Use a page or spread in your art journal or create a doodle that emphasizes a life pattern you want to change and what you want it to look like in your re-alignment.

I am back with another fun #WearyourjoySpring hosted by @kellyraeroberts . I really had fun with this one since I recorded it outside! I share my jewelry choices my favorite color red orange and my funky socks.

I decided to try taking part in a @KellyRaeRoberts #WearyourjoySPRINGevent where we're supposed to wear that brings us joy and post a selfie. I am a huge advocate for wearing what brings you joy, I call it wardrobe joy. So I thought I would take part in this event and I decided to create a video for it instead of taking a selfie. Hope you enjoy when I share about what I'm wearing with what brings me joy.

Here is the audio version of my book review for Creative Revolution by Flora Bowley.

Dawn's Great Reads: Creative Revolution by Flora Bowley

I discovered Flora Bowley through her first book, Brave Intuitive Painting, which I adored. Being an intuitive watercolor painter, I was immediately drawn to Flora's approach to painting and also to life.

So, when I heard that she had a new book out, Creative Revolution, I decided to check it out and see what else she had to share about this intuitive painting process and intuitive life in general.

And I am so glad I did!

Flora's zest for an authentic creative life is very inspiring to begin with. And her intuitive painting process really resonates with me as an artist. So I thought I would share my thoughts with you concerning her book, Creative Revolution, which I thoroughly enjoyed reading and digesting.

Flora breaks the book down into three parts reflecting the dimensions of life concerning mind, body, and spirit and how each of those dimensions directly impacts the creative process and the creative life.

She shares insightful parts of her own creative story, and she generously shows her painting process from start to finish.

She has provided many insightful and eye opening exercises to help you get in a better frame of mind as you ready yourself for the creative process.

She addresses the mind, the body and the spirit and shows how they complement each other and how they influence each other in a very positive way. And she also explains the importance of paying attention to each of those dimensions and addresses issues that you may find yourself facing that create challenges for your creative process.

I find her unique approach to the actual painting of the canvas to be interesting, fun, and eye-opening. Her primary medium is acrylic paint which makes the layering process very spontaneous and has ease of use. It's amazing to see how complex and dynamic her paintings develop through this many layered process.

I also like the fact that she turns the painting in order to provide a fresh perspective on what's already there on the canvas. It can help with the problem of painting yourself into a box!

As an intuitive watercolor painter, I am more deeply experiencing a new approach with gouache, and since it has a more opaque application versus transparent watercolor, it would be interesting and fun to try this layering process with gouache and see where it might lead!

I highly recommend this book due to Flora's deep insight into the creative process with mind, body and spirit.

I'm sure that it will encourage you, inspire you, and give you some new ideas to run with in your creative process. Flora also includes many images from her live workshops and from her personal painting practice, which is beautifully done.

Journaling prompt:What brave step are you eager to take in your creative practice to enhance your every day life? What does that look like for you? Detail this in a journal entry and determine what small step you can take that will open up new pathways for you.

Art journaling/Doodle prompt:Using images that inspire your creative mind and heart or/and using brave as a word prompt, create an journal spread or doodle that showcases your dreams in your creative life.

My Acronym for May!

I originally posted this on Instagram but decided to share it with you here at Refresh Daily so you wouldn't miss this great JOY tip!

I have created an acronym for the month of May:MindfullyAskYourselfAsk yourself what?What brings you joy!?☀️☺️👏And you can begin asking yourself that question by starting with your personal preferences. This can be applied anytime you choose what you will eat, wear, read, watch, listen to, etc.👍☺️☀️And as you choose joy each time you engage in something in your day, you're training yourself to choose joy and to attract more joy into your every day life! ☀️❤️☺️This will help you build more confidence in your decision making skills when it comes to things that have more gravity to them, such as relationships, your work, and other areas of your life where you have to make choices that will impact other people too. ❤️👍☺️So, don't forget to ask yourself what brings you joy!

Dawn Herring

Dawn engages in many roles: As Writer/Blogger and Artist/Creative and Founder of Refresh with Dawn Herring: Where Art and JOY Align, She enjoys sharing from her vast experience as award-winning, life-long artist and leader in the field of written journaling, offering encouragement and proven tips to other journal keepers. Dawn's focus is on written journal keeping, artistic expression and finding your Creative Voice, and positive change that leads personal empowerment, encouraging you to leave your authentic and positive mark in the world. Dawn is a Commercial artist, hand letterer/illustrator and writer/blogger and enjoys sharing insights, humor, and encouragement as she shares from her life experiences as a woman, wife, mother of two grown daughters and as a Grandparent to a special needs grandson. She enjoys keeping a journal and reading spiritual texts to help keep the light on. May JOY Align with Your Creative Heart.